Red Wings' Derek Meech has no problems 'going forward'

Red Wings defenseman Derek Meech has spent the past five games rotating in and out of the Wings' lineup as a forward, not a defenseman, with the Wings essentially rewarding Meech's versatility with playing time on a nearly-every-game basis, and Meech told DetroitRedWings.com's Michelle Crechiolo that the pluses of playing up front outweigh the disorientation involved in changing positions:

March 31, DetroitRedWings.com: “It’s a lot different,” Meech admitted. “It’s tough to sort of switch that defensive-mindedness, from defense to forward, but I like it because skating’s always been kind of one of my strong suits. It allows me to get up in the play and really try to use some speed and some tenacity and get up in the forecheck and use the body, which I like to do.”

This is a role he’s been asked to fill in previous seasons with the Wings, seeing ice time as a forward last season as well. He’s a team player and doesn’t complain about the switch, which makes him invaluable to the coaching staff

“He’s been positive all the time, even when he doesn’t play,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “He’s an upbeat guy, the guys really like him, and he competes hard. “I think obviously that attitude’s everything, you choose it every day. So he’s making the best of a situation that at times hasn’t been very positive for him. Would he like to play 20 minutes a night and play on the ‘D’ every night? He would. Ideally, one day it’ll work out that it works out like that for him. But right now to help us, that’s not his role.”

No worries, says Meech:

“I think it’s just getting your mindset in the right spot,” Meech said on how he adjusts to an offensive role. “Personally, it’s just playing on the fourth line usually, to just go out there and try to create some energy, and get some forecheck pressure and some body.”

The Wings' other "swing man" in Jason Williams, who plays defense on the second power play unit, believes that the positional swapping should serve Meech well down the line:

“You just see the game in a different perspective,” he said. “Sometimes it helps going back there, or moving up on forward, because you see things that kind of develop and happen, and you can use them when you’re in different positions.”